All these short stories are available as 99-cent Amazon Kindle eBooks.
Trail of Bones and Excrement
Review for Trail of Bones and Excrement from Margaret Marr, Review on NightsAndWeekends.com:
Gavin wakes up next to the glowing blue skeleton of his girlfriend, Danica. For a few minutes of deniability, he wonders if Danica could be alive somewhere else, and someone placed this skeleton in his bed as a twisted joke. Deep in his heart, he knows this isn’t true.
When he leaves his house to check out the rest of the neighborhood, Gavin finds skeletons everywhere he goes. He seems to be the only one who survived a disturbing end-of-times virus that melted skin off bones. For a short while, he hangs onto his sanity by a thread. Then he discovers that he might be able to find other living souls by following a trail of bones and excrement.
The short e-book Trail of Bones and Excrement was inspired by a science fiction/fantasy contest looking for stories involving fewmets—the feces that hunters use to track an animal—at the end of time. Though the subject matter is a tad weird and a bit yuck-inducing, author Marilyn Peake manages to weave an attractive story around it.
Gavin’s character realistically deals with the crisis, first going into denial, which is followed by a minor slip of sanity, then moving on to acceptance before he gathers his strength to find answers, leaving you with the feeling that twisted adventures await him.
With a masterful hand, Ms. Peake conveys the fear and growing loneliness that Gavin feels upon finding himself the only survivor in his city. You can almost hear the wind and the roar of silence sweeping through a town bereft of souls with Gavin at the center of it.
This strange short story comes alive in vivid detail with subtle, shocking waves of horror brought on by the ravages of a modern-day plague—yet it also contains a hint of beauty in chaos, which you’ll witness in the blue glow of the skeletons that have been left behind by the virus.
Much like the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Trail of Bones and Excrement is sure to be one of the short stories found in dusty old books a hundred years from now—the kind that people still comment upon long after the author’s death. Read it, and you’ll understand why.
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In China, an infant faerie is found by a toddler. Delighted, his peasant farmer parents see this as an opportunity to raise a second child despite China’s one-child Planned Birth Policy. They name the baby Ming Yue, meaning “Bright Moon”. She is precious and magical. As China begins its industrial revolution, waterways and rice paddies run red with pollution, farms become cancer villages, and the baby faerie struggles to survive.
Bright Moon was originally published on the literary blog, Glass Cases.
Book Cover Art by Phatpuppy Art http://phatpuppyart.com
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Maria and two of her siblings flee Mexico for the United States, illegally by way of the Rio Grande. Guided by human "Coyotes", they discover that the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence, especially when your powerful new employer harbors a dark secret within his heart. Genre: Dark Fantasy.
Review of Coyote Crossing by Sue Thurman, Television Producer & Author:
A Mayan mystery unfolds as Marilyn Peake masterfully paints a colorful tapestry of images and sounds, while vividly capturing the harsh and beautiful landscape of the southwestern desert. In the intense heat of the guarded border, there is no escape from this suspenseful tale as it captures the danger and intrigue of a late night illegal crossing. The loss of innocence is the prelude to surviving a brutal night facing the raging muddy waters of the Rio Grande, before a brash coyote host conducts a brutal cross-country trip to their destination. The opulence of the mansion is unexpected and a dramatic contrast to former life. The gift of immortality concludes the adventure with an unexpected twist.
Review Quote for Coyote Crossing from Margaret Marr, Reviewer for NightsAndWeekends.com:
Maria crosses the Rio Grande looking for freedom and a better life. But what will she get? A life of luxury or something more sinister? You may think you know the answer, but nothing is as you imagine in this engrossing tale.Purchase Coyote Crossing:
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Cannon Fodder: Operation Horse Whisperer
The years 2026-2027. China is the world's superpower. Recuperating from a nasty head injury in a military hospital, U.S. Army Private Jack Walker experiences
vivid memories of fighting along the Chinese-Mongolian border. The military
brass insist he's been fighting in Ethiopia, Africa; and they have photographs
to prove it. Of course, all isn't what it appears to be. There's the matter of
the luminescent purple liquid in the hypodermic needle and the little purple
pill. Genre: Science Fiction.
Review Quote for Cannon Fodder: Operation Horse Whisperer from Margaret Marr, Reviewer for NightsAndWeekends.com:
After six months, Alison Walker is allowed to see her husband after he returns from military duty in Africa with multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Jack Walker insists he wasn't in Africa, but no one's listening. Ms. Peake has the knack for hitting you with surprise endings. You'll not know what's going on with Jack until you read the last sentence.Purchase Cannon Fodder: Operation Horse Whisperer:
99-cent Amazon Kindle eBook
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Copyright (c) 2011 Marilyn Peake